Miranda Parker
by Myra109
Summary: What if Megan and Drake had an older sister named Miranda? What if she was the main disciplinarian of her younger siblings and her discipline worked while her mother and Walter's didn't?
1. I Will Never Forget You

_Hello, everyone! Welcome to the short story entitled Miranda Parker. Enjoy!_

 _This is a prompt from Movies And TV Shows AU._

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Drake And Josh or anything you recognize. The character Miranda Parker was an idea given to me by Movies And TV Shows AU._**

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Miranda Parker was smart, kind, gentle (but she could be stern when she needed to be), and wise beyond her years. She was a firm believer in choosing the right discipline for the right child, or you might as well not discipline them at all.

For example, one kid may obey everything their disciplinarian says when the disciplinarian uses physical discipline, but another kid may not listen to the person, no matter how many times the person yells, scolds, or punishes them. The second child may need a more emotional type of discipline because if the physical discipline won't get through to them, why keep trying what isn't working?

Therefore, over the years, Miranda had gotten the discipline thing down to a science. She knew which of her siblings needed what kind of discipline (well, Drake and Megan. She'd only met Josh a month ago, so she was still figuring him out) and when it was necessary to be gentle and when it was necessary to be strict.

Miranda Parker, twenty one years old, shut the door behind her as she stepped into Drake's room when she knew Josh would be out of the house. Drake strummed a cord on his guitar and the sound lasted a few seconds as he looked up before the musical sound halted.

"Miranda," he realized and set his guitar aside. "What's up?"

"I heard that you've been getting bad grades and staying out past curfew," she replied.

Drake flinched. "Yeah…" he replied. "Mom's already grounded me. I don't need to hear it from you, too."

Miranda sighed as she sat beside her younger brother on the bed.

"I'm not going to scold you or punish you," she told him.

Drake's eyes widened in surprise. "You're not?"

Miranda shook her head. "No. I'm going to ask you why. I'll admit, you're not the best student, but you were passing until a few months ago, and I've seen you skip curfew, but not five times in a row. So what changed?"

Drake shrugged. "Nothing. I just didn't feel like doing my homework."

Miranda hummed. "I don't think so. Your grades started slipping, and you started staying out later a little over a month and a half ago. You want to know what happened a month and a half ago?"

Drake frowned. "What?"

"Walter and Josh moved in," Miranda answered with a raised eyebrow. "Would that humongous change in your life have anything to with your grades and your behavior?"

Drake seemed surprised she'd figured it out, but Drake had his pride, and he scoffed.

"Of course not!" he lied.

"Then, why are you strumming all the wrong cords on your guitar, like you always do when you're nervous?" Miranda asked as he stumbled over the notes on his guitar.

Drake sighed. "Fine. You got me."

Miranda took a deep breath. "Drake, just because Josh and Walter are apart of our family now doesn't mean Mom or me will pay any less attention to you. You're still my baby brother, and even if I have another little brother now, I will never forget about you. If I ever do, you have permission to slap me until I remember my promise to never forget you. Okay?"

Drake smiled. "Thanks, Miranda."

Miranda shrugged. "Now, will you get your grades up and start coming home sooner? The last thing we need is Mom yelling at you again. I won't tell Mom about your feelings, and therefore, she won't smother you until you _wish_ she would pay less attention to you _if_ you get your grades up and are home by ten pm on school nights and eleven pm on weekends. Deal?"

Drake smiled and nodded. "Deal, big sis. But stop calling me your baby brother! I am fifteen!"

Miranda laughed. "Face it, Drake, you'll always be my baby bro, whether you like it or not," she replied, making them both chuckle.

Neither of them noticed Megan slowly close the door before quitting her ease dropping and returning to the room she shared with Miranda.

Megan sighed, heavily, as she laid down on her bed.

Miranda had such strict rules when it came to the room they shared. Don't cross over to Miranda's side of the room; don't touch Miranda's stuff; don't lay on her bed; don't play pranks on Miranda or the boys while Miranda is in the house. Unless you have permission, of course.

Miranda was always so strict with Megan, but she was never strict with Drake and Josh. Why was Miranda so hard on Megan? What had Megan ever done to her? Why was she treated differently than Drake and Josh?

Honestly… sometimes Megan wondered if Miranda actually hated her.

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 _Thank you for reading! There will be 4 chapters in this story (as of now, anyway), and I am hoping to have the next chapter up on Sunday! See you then, and please leave a review! Bye, everyone!_


	2. I Could Never Hate You

_Hello, everyone. How is everyone today? Welcome back to **Miranda Parker**!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

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"I'm making some chicken nuggets! You guys want any?" Miranda asked as she walked into the living room while drying her hands- wet and soapy from doing the dishes- with a hand towel. Drake was sitting on the couch, strumming the cords on his guitar, while Josh reviewed his science notes in the arm chair.

Drake glanced up. "Sure. Thanks, Miranda."

"I'll have some," Josh agreed. "Thank you."

"What about you, Meg-" Miranda abruptly cut herself off when she realized that Megan was no where in sight. "Megan!" she called.

No answer.

She turned to Drake and Josh. "You guys did pick her up from school, right?"

The boys frowned before their eyes widened as they realized that they had _actually_ forgotten to pick up their little sister.

They were going to be in so much trouble...

The front door opened, and a soaked, steaming Megan walked into the house, her face contorted with irritation as her eyes landed on the boys.

"I'll take that as a no," Miranda muttered before she rapidly crossed the room, smoothing back Megan's wet hair and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "You poor thing. You must be freezing," she murmured in concern, using the small towel in her hands to dry off Megan's face and hair. "Okay. Stay here; I'll be right back with some more towels."

Megan frowned in bewilderment at her sister's back as the older girl retreated down the hall.

Why was Miranda helping her? Miranda was always so strict. Megan expected her sibling to scold her for not bringing a rain coat or not calling Drake and Josh instead of walking home (even though she'd tried, and neither of them had picked up. Even Miranda hadn't answered her calls). But instead of admonishing Megan… she was helping her.

Megan always wondered if Miranda hated her. Could she have been wrong?

Miranda returned and hurried to dry off Megan with the towel and hand her a spare pair of clothes she'd grabbed from their room.

"You go into the bathroom and change, and when you're done, I need to have a talk with you two," she said, flatly, turning to Drake and Josh, who stared at her, nervously.

What was she going to do? Ground them? Punish them like she punished Megan (which was harshly)? The not knowing was the worst part of their punishment at that moment.

Megan changed out of her wet clothes and into the dry ones her sister had given her before sitting on the couch beside Drake and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders to begin warming her up.

And for several moments, silence was the only thing that existed in that living room.

"If you're going to yell at us, just do it," Josh finally muttered.

"I'm not going to yell at you," Miranda said as she paced from one end of the room to the other.

Megan sighed. She should've known better. Miranda never punished the boys like she punished Megan.

"I am going to do something worse than yelling," Miranda added, surprising Megan. "If you feel guilty, it is worse than any amount of grounding Mom or Walter or I could ever give you. So I want you to think about this.

"We're siblings. Sometimes we can't even tolerate each other, much less get along, but at the end of the day, we still love each other, whether we will admit it or not. And boys, Megan could've gotten sick. Maybe it could've just been the flu or maybe it could've been a case of pneumonia that landed her in the hospital. She is a ten year old girl walking home alone; she could've been hurt or kidnapped… or worse. And I know that you would feel ashamed when your sister never came home or came home, only to land herself in a hospital because she got sick."

Drake blinked, shocked when he actually did felt guilt blossoming in his chest. He wasn't Megan's biggest fan—far from it—but he didn't want to see her in the hospital or on a missing persons poster. "I guess we never really thought of it like that."

"I am not going to ground you. Your punishment is to drive Megan around for the next week. School, the mall, the library, friends' houses, wherever she wants to go, and I don't want to hear a complaint out of either of you," Miranda told them.

Josh nodded. "You won't."

Miranda nodded. "Good. Drake, I better see you studying if you want to keep those grades up."

"I'm getting straight As!" Drake protested.

"And I want to keep it that way. Anyway, come on, Megan. Let's go get you warmed up."

Miranda helped Megan off of the couch and slung an arm around her sister's shoulder as they walked down the hall.

"Thanks, Miranda," Megan told her sister.

Miranda laughed. "Don't look so surprised that I helped you. I may be hard on you, but that's because I want you on the right path, and sometimes guiding people requires tough love. But remember: I could never hate you. Ever You're my little sister."

Megan nodded.

Megan couldn't help but smile.

Maybe Miranda didn't hate her, after all...

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Josh sighed as she watched Miranda walk off with an arm around Megan's shoulders. They were both grinning.

Josh had moved in a little under a year ago, but even after all that time, he still didn't feel like he truly belonged in this family. Miranda would always be there for her little siblings, Drake and Megan; Josh was only her step sibling. Why would Miranda ever help him if he wasn't even technically related to her?

Josh just had to accept that he would never truly be apart of their family…

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 _Thank you for reading, and I will have the next chapter up later today! Bye, dear readers!_


	3. I Will Always Be Around To Help You

_Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

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Josh was known to be anxious, stressed out, and an extreme perfectionist when it came to certain things. In other words, a _spaz_.

So when the biggest test of the entire year came around, Josh was unbelievably stressed out. He was snippy and withdrawn and felt like his brain would implode if he thought anymore. He'd pull all nighters and shut himself up in his room, living on soda, water, sandwiches (usually that his dad and step mom made for him), and bags of chips. Nobody was especially worried because Josh acted like this with almost every test, but this test was bigger and his behavior worsened until it got Miranda's complete attention.

Josh jotted down some notes on the paper in front of him, and he heard the bedroom door open, but he didn't look up. He assumed it was Drake coming into their shared room to grab whatever he needed, but an older, feminine voice surprised him.

"Exams?" Miranda asked, leaning against the door frame.

Josh nodded, chewing on his pencil.

Miranda chuckled. "Don't chew on your pencil. That can cause some serious health issues if you get enough of the materials to make a pencil in your system. Besides, you do realize we have a kitchen full of food. I'm sure most of it is much more appetizing than your pencils and pens."

Josh blushed as he placed his chewed up pencil on the table in front of him. "If you're looking for Drake or Megan, they're in the living room."

"I'm not looking for them. I was looking for you," Miranda told him, making Josh raise an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked in shock. "Why?"

Miranda shrugged as she walked further into the room until she was standing beside his table. "Drake said you've been studying for this test for two days straight. It must be important."

Josh nodded. "It's the most important test of the year," he agreed, trying and failing not to show how nervous he truly was.

Miranda shrugged. "Math, right? That's one of my best subjects. I'll help."

Josh's eyebrows shot up. "But…"

Miranda laughed. "But what?"

Josh shook his head. "I guess I just thought you'd help Megan and Drake study for their exams before you even thought of helping me."

Miranda frowned. "Why?"

Josh, realizing how emotional he had just sounded, swallowed. "Nothing."

Miranda sighed before sitting in the chair beside Josh's. "Josh, you are just as much my sibling as Megan and Drake, okay? I will always be around to help you and to be there for you, just like I am for Megan and Drake. The fact that I share blood with them but not with you doesn't change anything. You're still my little brother, blood or not."

Josh, unsure of what to say, only nodded.

"So what are we studying here?" Miranda asked as she picked up his notes. "Ooh, _calculus_ ," she muttered like most kids would mutter _Brussel sprouts_ or _homework._

"You don't have to help me if you don't know how to do it," Josh said.

Miranda laughed. "I can help you. The problem with calculus is not the subject itself but a matter of understanding. Once you understand calculus itself, every equation is easy." (this is probably not true, but oh, well). "So it's not a matter of mesmerizing each equation but rather the short cuts you can take and still get the right answer."

Miranda showed him a quick short cut on three of the equations, and Josh gaped.

"That's genius!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you," Miranda chuckled.

She continued to help her little brother study until her mother called the two of them for dinner.

"Thanks," Josh grinned as he correctly completed five equations in a row.

Miranda shrugged. "I'll will always be around to help, Josh. Don't be afraid to ask for it, okay?" she asked before heading to the dining room for dinner.

Josh smiled as he followed.

Maybe he _truly_ was apart of their family, after all...

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When Josh rushed inside a few days later with his test, which had a bright ninety-seven percent in the corner, and thanked Miranda a dozen times for helping him, his step mom smiled behind them.

She was so proud of her kids, including Josh, but especially Miranda. She had a feeling that with Miranda around, Megan, Josh, and Drake would have no problem staying on the right path in their lives.

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 _Thanks for reading! One more chapter to go (but there will be a spin off, so you can look forward to that)! Please leave a review! Goodbye!_


	4. I Will Help You Stay On The Right Path

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

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Today was the day. Drake and Josh were finally graduating.

"I am so proud of you," Miranda told her little brothers as she stared at their silky blue gowns. Drake was twiddling with the tassle on his cap, and Josh leaned back on the bench they were sitting on.

After the graduation ceremony, their parents had gone on home (Miranda assumed to set up the celebration for Drake and Josh) while Megan, Drake, Josh, and Miranda walked home to have a little time to chat.

Miranda's three younger sibling had stopped her before she could walk inside, saying they wanted to talk to her about something, and Miranda and the boys sat on the bench on their porch while Megan reclined in a folding chair a few feet away from them.

"It's all thanks to you," Drake pointed out.

Miranda blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"You're the reason why we're standing here," Josh told her.

Miranda laughed. "How so?"

"If you hadn't encouraged me to get my grades up, I never would've graduated," Drake recalled.

"And you helped me with calculus. If I failed that class, I wouldn't have been able to graduate," Josh told her.

"And it's not just their graduation," Megan added. "It's everything you've ever done for us."

"You three did plenty on your own," Miranda said.

Drake nodded. "We did, but if you hadn't pushed us, we wouldn't have done half of that stuff."

"You helped me with my test anxiety so I didn't worry myself into the ground," Josh began.

"You encouraged me to apply for college, and I actually got a scholarship for two out of four years to study music at the nearest college," Drake continued.

"My grades started slipping last year," Megan remembered. "If you hadn't helped me to get my grades up by managing to make studying, which I was reluctant to do, fun, I would've been held back a year."

"You defended me against those bullies," Josh said.

"Drake helped!" Miranda pointed out. She honestly didn't think she had that much to do with how her brothers and sister turned out; she'd done everything she could to help them to be strong, smart, independent, and have good lives, but she didn't think she had _that_ much of an effect.

"Only because you found out and told me so we could catch them in the act and get them in trouble," Drake said. "And when I did find out, you stopped me from pummeling them and getting myself suspended."

"What about that time when I was younger and I met someone online- someone who I thought was my age- and we decided to meet?" Megan asked. "You found the messages, locked me in our room all night, and went out to meet him instead. You found out he was thirty years old and got him arrested. Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't stopped me from going?"

"What about that time I was really sick and refused to tell Mom and Walter?" Drake questioned. "You convinced me to tell them, and they took me to the hospital."

"You had appendicitis," Miranda remembered.

"If you hadn't convinced me to tell them, my appendix could've burst in the middle of the night, and I wouldn't be standing here," Drake pointed out.

When Miranda didn't reply, Josh sighed before beginning to give another example.

"Or the time I got a stomach ulcer-"

Miranda laughed. "I get it!"

"You are the reason we're where we are right now," Drake said.

"Graduated," Josh added.

"On our way to college," Drake said.

"Alive," Megan finished.

"And that's why we wanted to do something special for you," Drake said.

The three siblings opened the front door, and Miranda gaped as she saw a party set up inside, but the banner did not shout congratulations to Drake and Josh. It read something very different and very surprising.

 _Thank you, Miranda Parker!_

"For being the best big sister ever," Drake said after she read the banner. "We told Mom and Walter that instead of a graduation party, we wanted to do a thank you party for you."

"They agreed," Josh added. "After all, you cook every meal for us, work three jobs to help with bills, do a lot of the house work, and still have time to discipline us and look out for us and make sure we're making good decisions."

"Thank you," Megan said. "That doesn't even begin to describe how thankful I am, but… thank you, Miranda."

The three siblings closed ranks around Miranda, and the four of them clutched each other, tightly, _beyond_ grateful that they were siblings.

Miranda knew that without her siblings, she wouldn't be who she was today. And her siblings knew they wouldn't be who they were today without Miranda.

Megan was getting straight As, participating in two sports, had joined three clubs, and still took the time to volunteer. She was kind (but could still be a fantastic prankster when she wanted to be) and grateful for everything in her life.

Drake and Josh had graduated and were on their way to, not only college, but also jobs and families of their own and successful, great lives.

And it was all because of their big sister. It was all because of Miranda Elizabeth Parker.

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 _Thanks for reading! There will be a few spin offs, so keep your eyes out for those, but other than that, **this** story is coming to a close. I hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to tell me what you thought in the form of a review or a PM!_


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